Tire-retaining flange for wheel-rims.



R. S. BRYANT. TIRE BBTAINING PLANGE Fon WHEEL Ems;

APPLIUATIOH FILED APB-6, 19D?.

Patented o.1s,19o.

Ric/v ard S. Bryan/NVENTR,

Y M m T A tire-retaining flanges for wheel rims, which vtion which will be more definitely set torth RICHARD S. BRYANT, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY IVIESNE ASSGNMENTS, TO THE UNITED RIM COIVIPANY, 0F AKRON, OHIO, A CORPORATIN OF HIO.

TIRE-RETAINING FLANGE FOR WHEEL-RIMS.

Application filed April v Specification of Letters Patent.

iipatenijed Get.. i8, i910.

Serial No. 366,747.

To ail whom t may concern.

Be it known tvhat, l, RICHARD S. BRYANT, a citizen of the United States, residing at llolumbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Tire-Retaining` Flanges for lVheel-Rims, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates-to improvements in are adapted preferably to be placed upon the rim and removed therefrom at. will, but the inner one oi? which may, if desired,be brazed upon said rim body; Said lia-nge is construct.- eol with a Y[iat base preferably, and is formed of material so pressed and bent into shape as to furnish a strongly braced support againslJ which a tire 'when inl-lated may bear Withoutany danger of the flange being crushed or distorted or removed from its proper position; it further contemplates a flange which may be formed from a single strip or ribbon of metal, which, by being ied through a series oi' dies or rolls, will progressively be given ille desired sei-'tional form, and may lhen be beni into a eirele and the ends` adinstably or rigidly semn'ed together, whereupon the liange is ready for being sealed Yupon the rim body for use; it further con templates a iiangewhieh is entirely machine formedA from the beginningl with (he flaty strip or ribbonof metal to the end in the completed flange; and when iinished it will be of such pi'oiile in cross section as to unloelc, 'or to reeisi ille strain applied by an inllal'ed tire, williout lhe necessity of brazing ol' welding' die rseain; il ilurlliereonlemplzles the provision ol1v optional i'orms oi' inodilhfations ol the llange, ille ehai'aolel'is lie oi: ihe same being' the lint base and the reeessed eide for engagement willi die rim flange or locking,` ring,

ll'ith tl'iese and other objects in eontempla in theA following' description and in the claims, reierenee is made to the drawings hereto attached whieh are hereby made a part of this specification, in whieh l `igure l is a section through the tire and tiren-etaining llang'ee and rim body and .telly all in place; Fib shows J(he various steps by which thecon'ipleted flange is 'fol-med, the various steps being shown in dotted lines; Fig. 3 is a View of the blank in section from which *ehe iiange is formed; Fig. #if shows (he form after passing' through the first set of rolls; Fig'. 5 showe the second step in the progress of the blank through the rolls. Fig. lf3 indieates the third step,

Fig. 'T the fourih Siep., ifig. 8, the li'fth step; Fig. 9 the siYih and Fig. 0 shows the last step in which the parts are pressed into their inal shape, the Figs. il, l2, 13, and i4; show modiiied forms of the liange. v

In the lrawings l is an inliatable tire ot' the variety known on the market. as lthe yDunlop tire, having woven therein the web "2, and having cireuinferentiaily insert.- ed at its edges the wires ll, which bind the tire rigidly Lo lhe rim and n'iainiain ily in` position; L'l is the inner tube. The lire is mounted upon the rim body Snhich is here shown as being formed in my preferred style, and has ther-etere ai one edge the up turned ienge 6 and ai. the opposite edge the do\\'nt\n'ned 'Piange 7, the tire retaining` flange S being' seated against, the upturned iange o, while the lire-retaining liange Si is posilioned upon ille rim body upon the opposite side lhereol'. 'llielire-retaining flange l.) is mainlained against movemenl olli' ol! the rim body by the lei-king ring 1U whieh is elastic and is adapted to be sprung upon the downturned flange 7 -whereby il, is peeitfioned 'for engaging lhe lire-retaining flange 9 as shown. The inllation ol" the lire torres the edges or leei lhereo'l inlo snug engagement with the ii1'e,-ie:\inii1g llang'es, and the wires il bind ilie tire inlo enga/gement with the rim body, and thereby not only hold the tire in position but also slrenglhen ils construction.

The paris are adapied lo be assembled in the following manner, namely, the tire-retaining l'lang'e is positioned upon the rim body ('vei' the outer edge thereof and iS then. moved aeross the l'aee until it engages the rim [lange (i and is snugly seated against. the same; lhe deflated tire is next positioned upon ille rim bodyovei' the outer edge.

fuiiy degeribed.- The nre is uien inflated una the feet or edges thereof are driven into tight engagement with the tire-retaining flanges, one of which, 8, is maintained upon the face of tlieriin body by the upturned flange 6, the other, 9 is maintained upon the edge of the rim body by the long arm of the locking ring 10.

11 represents the felly, the remainder of the Wheel not being shown.

The preferred forni of the tire-retaining flange is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 10, in which the base is shown as 4formedv of two thicknesses of nietal,12 and 13; one edge 14 of the side 13 abuts ,against the long side 15 of the flange, the other edge 16 of the side 13 abuts against a portion 17 upturnedfrom the base 12; the upper edge' 18 of the portion 17 abuts against the outwardly curved or recessed portion 19, supporting the sanfe from beneath; at a short distance outwardly from the upper edge 18, said .portion 19 is 'curved as at 20, which curve is formed con'l tinuously around to one corner'of the base 21, vWhere the curve ceases and the horizontal or flat base portion is formed which is curved upwardly at its opposite side 24 to .form the side 17 as noted. It will therefore "be ,observed that the preferred form of my tire-retaining`flange shows in section a me-4 tallic tubular construction having four` rather sharp curves formed therein facing inwardly of the tube, and one' curve facing outwardly thereof; these shar er curves are fouiidnear the base portion o the flange as it is normally positioned'upon tlie rim body. The remainingportion of the flange is formed preferably of a continuous curve.

When the tire-retaining flange is in place on the rim body, the base portion 12 is in contact with the outer face of the rim body,

' while the upwardly bent portion 17 is in lateral engagement with the rim flange on one sideof the rim body and with the long arm of the locking ring on the other side. The pressure from above is resisted by the general arched form of the upper portion of the tire-retaining flange as indicated at 22',

said flange being carried as a whole upon the outer face of the rim body 5, the latter consequently sustaining all of the pressure upon the flange directed toward the center of the rim circle, while the lateral pressure due to the tire is maintained by the portion 13 lying upon the base 1,2 of the tube which abuts against the wall l5, thereby strengthening the same. .The downward and lateral pressure are botli'borne, moreover, by the `doubling or lapping of the portions 17 and 23, which affords strong resistance not only to lateral pressure but also to vertical stresses. The whole. construction of the tireretaining flange is such as to oppose greatest resistance where the stress due to the inflation of the tire and the use of the vehicle,

illustratedin Figs. 3 tov 10 inclusive, the` force being applied to the metal by means of rolls shaped properly to produce the desired formfof the material operated upon, and arranged progressively, so that the inaterial is fed froni Yone series of rolls forward to another. An arbor is introduced int-o the system in Fig. G for the purpose of shaping the right hand portion of the flange as seen in sai figure, and during the remainder of the process of shaping the tubular flange passes along upon the arbor, the forces to effect the proper shape being 'applied eX- ternally through the sets of rolls.

Figs. `11 to 14 inclusive show modified forms of construction, each being a cross section; in Fig. 11 the base is formed of a por# tion curved inwardly from 'the right andl then upwardly, the overhanging externallyrecessed portion overlapping or abutting against said upturiied inner portion, whilel in Fig. 12,'the'side portion extending upwardly fi'om the base overlaps the downwardly extending portion on the outside thereof, and forms a support for'the overhan'ging externallyA recessed portion. I'n Fig.'13 the base portion is doubled, the inner portion. abutting against the wall vot the.

flange adjacent the externally-reeessed poi'- tion, and supporting the saine; in Fig. 1K4 the base portion is doubled, the inner portion abutting against the longer side wall of the flange.

F rom the foregoing description it will appear that my tire-retaining flange is formed by one continuous operation from a flat ribbon or strip of metal, the shape thereof being effected by a plurality of operations of prop-I erly constructed' rolls and an arbor and with slight changes a nuniber of modified forms may be inade; the flange when completed is characterized by the flat base, the material preferably overla ping or being folded, and having such profi e in cross section as to sustainA the stress from the inflated tire Without the necessity of brazing or welding the seani; and an external recess formed at one side of said flange. the adjacent walls thereof being supported and strengthened by a portion upturned from the outer fold of said .base portion, and engaging one of the walls of said externally recessed portion laterally and the other from beneath. The inner fold ofthe base portionabuts against the wall of the tubularI flange opposite the externallyrecessed portion, and in this manner the base ortion is firmly secured together and rigidly raced against stress exerted thereon under operating conditions. The arched form (if the remaining' portion of the tubular flange imparts great strength thereto, and the stresses set up by the inflated tire are met in every direction by the ange constructed in the .General manner described above.

lt willlbe understood that the metal when given the cross section shown in Figs. l, 2 and 10, upon leavingtlie rolls, is extended;

fthe curved forno is imparted thereto by passing the saine through a, bending machine whereby the tubular construction is given a circular form, and the rolled metal having been cut into strips of the desired length, after the same have been formed into a circle, the ends are electrically welded, or otherwise rigidly or adju-stably secured together, whereupon the flanges are ready ,for

use.

claim as newl and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A hollow trerretaining with a base tor engaging and seating .the same upon the face of the rim body of a wheel and having a recess formed in its periphery adjacent to thebase, and being constructed to have overlapping parts for reinforcing the walls thereof.-

2. A hollow tire-retaining ring having its lower portion substantially rectangular in cross section, and its upper portion substantially curved in cross section and overhanging said lower portion of said ring, said rectangular portion adjacent to said overhanging portion being formed of overlapping reinforcing members.

In testimony whereof I affix Iny signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEO. W. RIGHTMIRE, A. RAGER.

ring formed i 

